1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to disk drive suspensions and more particularly to flexures for disk drive suspensions. The invention flexures have a slider supporting tongue engaged with a dimple and carried on a frame having separate and oppositely acting biasing structures for a net increase the contact force of the tongue on the dimple.
2. Description of the Related Art
Flexures are relatively more flexible and springy members of disk drive suspensions. A typical suspension includes a load beam having a mounting base attached to an actuator, a hinge or spring, and a beam. The flexure is supported by the beam. Flexures typically comprise a frame and a cantilevered tongue extending from and usually within the frame. The frame includes a usually proximate base that attaches to the suspension beam, a transversely disposed, usually distal cross member, and left and right struts that connect the base and cross-member. The tongue typically projects from a central portion of the cross-member. The flexure tongue carries a slider (an aerodynamic body containing the read/write head) for travel over the surface of a disk in gimballing relation to accommodate the many forces on the suspension while keeping at the intended track on the disk. Maintaining correct track registration of the slider requires good contact force from the tongue on the dimple, a curved, protuberant surface usually formed on the load beam but sometimes on the tongue.
The force on the slider reflects the force on the tongue and the tongue force is dependent, assuming a given dimple height, on the bias on the tongue toward the dimple. It is known to offset the plane of the tongue from the plane of the base by locally deflecting the cross-member to allow for tongue movement without frame interference and this also biases the tongue toward the dimple.